For a blog assignment I had to try a food that I have never eaten before. A friend recommended that I try oxtail. So I did some searching to find a restaurant in my area that sold oxtail. Portland Jerk Restaurant is a Caribbean restaurant that had an oxtail dinner on their menu.
The oxtail dinner came with oxtail, rice and beans and coleslaw. The oxtail dinner appeals to one of the five basic tastes, which is sweetness. I found the marinade that they used on the meat was sweet and sticky.
What I observed while eating the oxtail dinner was that the meat was fatty and the marinade was sweet and sticky. It wasn't too sweet, but sweeter than I am usually used to when it comes to a marinade. I found the rice to be bland and somewhat dry. I think the rice could have used a little more salt. I may be wrong and that is how the rice is supposed to taste, but I would prefer a little more salt personally. The coleslaw was creamy and tasted like basic coleslaw, there wasn't anything really special about it. It was the standard coleslaw you can get anywhere. The smell of the food was very meaty and it had a smokey smell also. You had to use your hands to eat the meat as there were bones and you have to eat the meat off the bones, I found my fingers got really sticky by the time I finished the meat. By looking at the meal, it was a lot of brown and beige colours. There are meals that excite the eyes by using colour but this meal was very neutral in colour. It did not stimulate my sense of sight.
I think the meat tasted like beef. If no one had told me it was oxtail, I would not have known and just thought it was a fatty beef. This food is unique because it is a Caribbean dish. I am not familiar with Caribbean meals and found this to be unique. In my family, eating oxtail is not a typical or normal meat to eat. We eat mainly beef or chicken. Also, the spices that they use on the meat I think makes the meal also special.
I will admit, I am not an adventurous person when it comes to what I eat. I would never have thought to try Caribbean food if not for this assignment. I found that my palate likes a little more salt than what was used on this meal. I also did not hate the sweetness of the marinade. The oxtail dinner was not bad but I would not buy it again. I may be willing to try another Caribbean dish but just not this one. I found the sweetness of the marinade appealing but the texture of the meat was not appealing because of the fattiness from the bone marrow.
This experience has opened my mind to trying new foods and being adventurous. In the future, I will be more open to using spices from other countries to add flavour to my dishes. I also have to learn to add salt to taste but not to my taste but what a customer would find to be enough salt.
